2012 Sleeper thread

Most of the discussion these past few weeks has been surrounding what the Browns will do at #4, or whether or not we should draft Brandon Weeden. However, he Browns won't be able to turn the corner with picks in the first two rounds; they are expected to hit on those picks. For the Browns to take a step towards contention, they need to hit on some gems in rounds 3-5.

The draft is a little more than a week away, let's throw some names out there and talk about the guys in the middle of the draft. Who do you like? Where would you target them? What role do they have on the Browns?

A couple to get this started:

3rd round:
Bobbie Massie LT - I've been on the Massie bandwagon since the end of the season. If he falls to the 3rd round, he's a must-grab for the Browns. He'll need some time in the weight room, but he has the potential to be a top 3 tackle in this draft. The value in the 3rd is immense

Brandon Brooks OG - Ohio University guard who has not been getting his due. He was not invited to the NFL combine, but his pro-day numbers were off the charts. 6'5", 350 lbs., 36 reps of 225... Tremendous size and potential. A guy like that could lock up the guard position for a long time.

[video=youtube;IQexemXLjsA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQexemXLjsA[/video]
(Only video even talking about him I could find)

4th round:
Keenan Robinson OLB- Not sure if he falls here, and it may be worth trading up into the mid-to-late 3rd to get him. Plays with a ton of aggression and not afraid of contact. Was not asked to rush the passer in college, so his blitzing is an unknown. However, he plays the run well and has a great deal of experience in zone coverage to take away the slot receiver.

Chase Minifield. He gets underrated because of his size and people dismiss him because they think we're interested in the name alone. However he has some serious skills and I think he'll make whoever takes him quite happy.

Here's mine. I'd love the Browns to take a flyer on him, and take someone like Hill early on at 22. A Hill, Little, Broyles, and Cribbs WR core would be great.

Click to expand...

I don't know much about him, but I see a lot of people are expecting him to slip significantly in the draft because of his ACL injury. It would be great if we could get a guy like this in the 5th round and see if he can recover.

Doc Shakalu said:

I don't know if you consider him a sleeper, but I think Doug Martin will have similar success to Richardson. Guy's a stud.

Click to expand...

I'm mostly looking for a few names to make days 2 and 3 of the draft interesting personally, but if the Browns trade out of #4, I hope they have their sights set on getting Martin.

if i had to bet money on which QB the Browns are gonna take it would be him (late round project, basically the exact opposite of McCoy but has a lot of upside).

here's my theory: if you go by PFT's visits and workout tracker there's only one punter in this entire draft class who has had any visits with teams (the Browns were one of those teams)
and he's like the 5th or 6th rated punter according to CBS. now i could be wrong here but why would teams bring in the 6th rated punter? maybe because they want to talk to him about
one of his teammates and want to avoid other teams finding out that hey have interest in that certain player

you can guess for which college the 6th rated punter in this draft class Brian Stahovich played...

here's Cosell's take on Lindley (from his "Diamonds in the Rough" article):

The San Diego State quarterback was a compelling study. He ran a pro offense, with the focus on five- and seven-step drops, and play action. No quarterback I evaluated attempted, and made, more big-time intermediate to deeper NFL-type throws. He was very decisive as a pocket passer. The ball came out without hesitation. If you spliced together his 25 best throws from the 2011 season — and did the same for all the passers in this draft — Lindley would have the biggest “wow” factor, without question. There were issues, however. The primary red flag was erratic accuracy, both imprecise ball location and wildly scattershot throws. He also was uncomfortable in the eye of the storm; when the pocket got muddied, his efficiency and accuracy were negatively impacted. I will be fascinated to see where Lindley gets drafted. I have spoken to some coaches who see a lot to work with.

Click to expand...

(sound like the perfect high upside QB you can take a chance on in later rounds)

Joe Adams, WR, Arkansas. Tore up the Senior Bowl. He's an ideal slot receiver and deep threat. Juron Criner is another one who I think people are sleeping on. He's got fantastic hands and very good body control. His 40 time was disappointing, but I see more in him than I do in Mohammed Sanu.

Also, agreed on Lindley. I've loved what I've seen on him, and he definitely looks like a Holmgren type.

Just for the sake of argument say the Browns do take Weeden. D you think there's a shot that they still pull the trigger on a project guy like Lindley in a later round? Obviously he is the type who would need to ride the pine before playing.

I like Ladarius Green from Louisiana-Lafayette. He played TE in college, but could make the switch to WR in the pros. He's almost 6'6" and 239 pounds, but he runs fast for his size (4.47 in the 40). He was productive in college, catching 44 passes for 794 yards and 7 TD in his junior year, and 51 passes for 606 yards and 8 TD in his senior year (despite missing two games that season). The Browns had him in town for a visit, so it's safe to say we are considering him. I've seen some mocks have him slated for the third round, but he looks more like a fourth- or fifth-round pick to me.

Not a sleeper per se, but only because we are so locked in on improving our shitty offense......but I think Nick Perry is going to be a 10-12 sacks/year DE, and would be a top 5-10 prospect next year. I love Randle at 22, but something tells me if Perry is available.........

I'd be very happy with T.Y. Hilton or Joe Adams in the 3rd/4th round. Hilton is a big-time WR who wanted to stay close to home in college, and Adams is a burner.